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In 2021, the NCAA announced a new policy that allows student athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness (NIL). In the years since, multiple credit unions have taken advantage of the opportunity, reaping the benefits of having their brands promoted by well-recognized athletes within university sports communities.
Now, a Texas credit union is taking the opportunity a step further by partnering with LinkingCoogs, the NIL collective at the University of Houston, to not only work with student athletes on marketing campaigns but help those student athletes manage the money they earn through their NIL deals.
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The $4.6 billion, Lake Jackson-based TDECU signed a multi-year partnership that gives over 600 student athletes across 17 sports teams at the University of Houston access to the credit union's products and services at no cost. In addition, TDECU will serve as LinkingCoogs' new payment processor.
"LinkingCoogs, UH's NIL collective, previously used an online payment service to deliver earnings to athletes. This created problems in quickly delivering the funds and was associated with high transaction fees," Sheiludis Moyett, TDECU's chief digital and marketing officer, said.
"As the new payment processor for the UH NIL collective, TDECU will facilitate simpler, faster and more cost-effective management of NIL earnings for UH student athletes."
Moyett noted that TDECU plans to prioritize athletes who may otherwise not receive NIL compensation in the current model, such as female athletes at the University of Houston.
"Our pioneering approach in the NIL space is designed to thoughtfully engage with student athletes during these formative years of NIL agreements," she said. "We're setting a precedent by supporting the entire UH student athlete collective, and managing money transfers for all NIL transactions – a true innovation in the financial services sector."
The partnership also includes a two-part financial education component, Moyett explained. First, athletes will work with TDECU to produce and star in short financial literacy educational videos for the university community, and second, athletes will receive compensation for participating in TDECU's existing financial wellness seminars and sharing their learning afterward.
TDECU said the financial guidance geared toward the university's athletes will include establishing credit, budgeting effectively and understanding tax obligations.
"TDECU is not just a financial institution. We are financial partners and problem solvers for our members," TDECU President/CEO Isaac Johnson stated. "Our partnership with the University of Houston has always been about more than stadium naming rights. It's also about helping student athletes, and the entire community, through financial education, career development and fighting food insecurity."
TDECU first partnered with the university in 2014, and last summer, the credit union finalized a $20 million partnership extension that includes keeping the naming rights to TDECU Stadium until at least 2034.
"We are thrilled to announce our multi-year NIL partnership with TDECU after two years of collaboration," LinkingCoogs Vice President of Sales and Development Landon Goesling stated. "This groundbreaking alliance promises to redefine NIL engagements in the financial services category. With TDECU's campus presence, including football stadium naming rights, the impact will be significant for Houston's student athletes and community."
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
